Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
(As Approved by ICANN
on October 24, 1999 and implemented by W3HUB PTE LTD on 1 March 2005)
1. Purpose
This Uniform Domain Name
Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy") has been adopted by the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ("ICANN"), is incorporated by
reference into your Registration Agreement, and sets forth the terms and
conditions in connection with a dispute between you and any party other than
W3HUB PTE LTD (the registrar) over the registration and use of an Internet
domain name registered by you. Proceedings under Paragraph 4 of this Policy
will be conducted according to the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute
Resolution Policy (the "Rules of Procedure"), which are available at
http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp-rules-24oct99.htm, and the selected
administrative-dispute-resolution service provider's supplemental rules.
2. Your
Representations
By applying to register a
domain name, or by asking W3HUB PTE LTD to maintain or renew a domain name
registration, the Registrant hereby represents and warrants to W3HUB PTE LTD
that (a) the statements that the Registrant made in the Registration
Agreement are complete and accurate; (b) to the Registrant's knowledge, the
registration of the domain name will not infringe upon or otherwise violate
the rights of any third party; (c) the Registrant is not registering the
domain name for an unlawful purpose; and (d) the Registrant will not
knowingly use the domain name in violation of any applicable laws or
regulations. It is the Registrant's responsibility to determine whether the
domain name registration infringes or violates someone else's rights.
3. Cancellations,
Transfers, and Changes
W3HUB PTE LTD will cancel,
transfer or otherwise make changes to domain name registrations under the
following circumstances:
a subject to the provisions of Paragraph 8, on receipt of written or
appropriate electronic instructions from the Registrant or their authorized
agent to take such action;
b on receipt of an order from a court or arbitral tribunal, in each case of
competent jurisdiction, requiring such action; and/or
c on receipt of a decision of an Administrative Panel requiring such action
in any administrative proceeding to which the Registrant was a party and
which was conducted under this Policy or a later version of this Policy
adopted by ICANN. (See Paragraph 4(i) and (k) below.)
W3HUB PTE LTD may also cancel, transfer or otherwise make changes to a
domain name registration in accordance with the terms of the Registration
Agreement or other legal requirements.
4. Mandatory
Administrative Proceeding
This Paragraph sets forth
the type of disputes for which you are required to submit to a mandatory
administrative proceeding. These proceedings will be conducted before one of
the administrative-dispute-resolution service providers listed at
http://www.icann.org/udrp/approved-providers.htm (each, a "Provider").
a Applicable Disputes. The Registrant is required to submit to a mandatory
administrative proceeding in the event that a third party (a 'complainant')
asserts to the applicable Provider, in compliance with the Rules of
Procedure, that
i the domain name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or
service mark in which the complainant has rights; and
ii the Registrant has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the
domain name; and
iii the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
In the administrative proceeding, the complainant must prove that each of
these three elements is present.
b Evidence of Registration and Use in Bad Faith. For the purposes of
Paragraph 4(a)(iii), the following circumstances, in particular but without
limitation, if found by the Panel to be present, shall be evidence of the
registration and of a domain name in bad faith: i circumstances indicating
that the Registrant has registered or has acquired the domain name primarily
for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain
name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or
service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable
consideration in excess of the Registrant's documented out-of-pocket costs
directly related to the domain name; or
ii the Registrant has registered the domain name in order to prevent the
owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a
corresponding domain name, provided that the Registrant has engaged in a
pattern of such conduct; or
iii the Registrant has registered the domain name primarily for the purpose
of disrupting the business of a competitor; or
iv by using the domain name, the Registrant has intentionally attempted to
attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to their website or other
on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the
complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or
endorsement of their web site or location or of a product or service on
their website or location.
c How to Demonstrate the Registrant's Rights to and Legitimate Interests in
the Domain Name in Responding to a Complaint. When the Registrant receives a
complaint, the Registrant should refer to Paragraph 5 of the Rules of
Procedure in determining how their response should be prepared. Any of the
following circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found by
the Panel to be proved based on its evaluation of all evidence presented,
shall demonstrate the Registrant's rights or legitimate interests to the
domain name for purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(ii): i before any notice to the
Registrant of the dispute, the registrant's use of, or demonstrable
preparations to use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain
name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or
ii the Registrant (as an individual, business, or other organization) has
been commonly known by the domain name, even if the Registrant has acquired
no trademark or service mark rights; or
iii the Registrant is making a legitimate non-commercial or fair use of the
domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert
consumers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.
d Selection of Provider. The
complainant shall select the Provider from among those approved by ICANN by
submitting the complaint to that Provider. The selected Provider will
administer the proceeding, except in cases of consolidation as described in
Paragraph 4(f).
e Initiation of Proceeding and Process and Appointment of Administrative
Panel. The Rules of Procedure state the process for initiating and
conducting a proceeding and for appointing the panel that will decide the
dispute (the 'Administrative Panel').
f Consolidation. In the event of multiple disputes between the Registrant
and a complainant, either the Registrant or the complainant may petition to
consolidate the disputes before a single Administrative Panel. This petition
shall be made to the first Administrative Panel appointed to hear a pending
dispute between the parties. This Administrative Panel may consolidate
before it any or all such disputes in its sole discretion, provided that the
disputes being consolidated are governed by this Policy or a later version
of this Policy adopted by ICANN.
g Fees. All fees charged by a Provider in connection with any dispute before
an Administrative Panel pursuant to this Policy shall be paid by the
complainant, except in cases where the Registrant elects to expand the
Administrative Panel from one to three panellists as provided in Paragraph
5(b)(iv) of the Rules of Procedure, in which case all fees will be split
evenly by the Registrant and the complainant.
h W3HUB PTE LTD's Involvement in Administrative Proceedings. W3HUB PTE LTD
do not, and will not, participate in the administration or conduct of any
proceeding before an Administrative Panel. In addition, W3HUB PTE LTD will
not be liable as a result of any decisions rendered by the Administrative
Panel.
i Remedies. The remedies available to a complainant pursuant to any
proceeding before an Administrative Panel shall be limited to requiring the
cancellation the Registrant's domain name or the transfer of the domain name
registration to the complainant.
j Notification and Publication. The Provider shall notify W3HUB PTE LTD of
any decision made by an Administrative Panel with respect to a domain name
the Registrant has registered with W3HUB PTE LTD. All decisions under this
Policy will be published in full over the Internet, except when an
Administrative Panel determines in an exceptional case to redact portions of
its decision.
k Availability of Court Proceedings. The mandatory administrative proceeding
requirements set forth in Paragraph 4 shall not prevent either the
Registrant or the complainant from submitting the dispute to a court of
competent jurisdiction for independent resolution before such mandatory
administrative proceeding is commenced or after such proceeding is
concluded. If an Administrative Panel decides that the domain name
registration should be cancelled or transferred, W3HUB PTE LTD will wait ten
(10) business days (as observed in the location of W3HUB PTE LTD's principal
office) after W3HUB PTE LTD are informed by the applicable Provider of the
Administrative Panel's decision before implementing that decision. W3HUB PTE
LTD will then implement the decision unless W3HUB PTE LTD have received from
the Registrant during that ten (10) business day period official
documentation (such as a copy of a complaint, file-stamped by the clerk of
the court) that the Registrant has commenced a lawsuit against the
complainant in a jurisdiction to which the complainant has submitted under
Paragraph 3(b)(xiii) of the Rules of Procedure. (In general, that
jurisdiction is either the location of the W3HUB PTE LTD principal office or
of the Registrant's address as shown in W3HUB PTE LTD's Whois database. See
Paragraphs 1 and 3(b)(xiii) of the Rules of Procedure for details.) If W3HUB
PTE LTD receive such documentation within the ten (10) business day period,
W3HUB PTE LTD will not implement the Administrative Panel's decision, and
W3HUB PTE LTD will take no further action, until W3HUB PTE LTD receive (i)
evidence satisfactory to W3HUB PTE LTD of a resolution between the parties;
(ii) evidence satisfactory to W3HUB PTE LTD that the lawsuit has been
dismissed or withdrawn; or (iii) a copy of an order from such court
dismissing the Registrant's lawsuit or ordering that the Registrant does not
have the right to continue to use the domain name.
5. All Other
Disputes and Litigation
All other disputes between
the Registrant and any party other than W3HUB PTE LTD regarding the domain
name registration that are not brought pursuant to the mandatory
administrative proceeding provisions of Paragraph 4 shall be resolved
between the Registrant and such other party through any court, arbitration
or other proceeding that may be available.
6. W3HUB PTE LTD
Involvement in Disputes
W3HUB PTE LTD will not
participate in any way in any dispute between the Registrant and any party
other than W3HUB PTE LTD regarding the registration and use of the domain
name. The Registrant shall not name W3HUB PTE LTD as a party or otherwise
include W3HUB PTE LTD in any such proceeding. In the event that W3HUB PTE
LTD are named as a party in any such proceeding, W3HUB PTE LTD reserve the
right to raise any and all defences deemed appropriate, and to take any
other action necessary to defend itself.
7. Maintaining the
Status Quo
W3HUB PTE LTD will not
cancel, transfer, activate, deactivate, or otherwise change the status of
any domain name registration under this Policy except as provided in
Paragraph 3 above.
8. Transfers During
a Dispute
a Transfers of a Domain Name
to a New Holder. The Registrant may not transfer the domain name
registration to another holder (i) during a pending administrative
proceeding brought pursuant to Paragraph 4 or for a period of fifteen (15)
business days (as observed in the location of W3HUB PTE LTD's principal
place of business) after such proceeding is concluded; or (ii) during a
pending court proceeding or arbitration commenced regarding the Registrant's
domain name unless the party to whom the domain name registration is being
transferred agrees, in writing, to be bound by the decision of the court or
arbitrator. W3HUB PTE LTD reserve the right to cancel any transfer of a
domain name registration to another holder that is made in violation of this
subparagraph.
b Changing Registrars. The Registrant may not transfer the domain name
registration to another registrar during a pending administrative proceeding
brought pursuant to Paragraph 4 or for a period of fifteen (15) business
days (as observed in the location of the W3HUB PTE LTD principal place of
business) after such proceeding is concluded. The Registrant may transfer
administration of the domain name registration to another registrar during a
pending court action or arbitration, provided that the domain name the
Registrant has registered with W3HUB PTE LTD shall continue to be subject to
the proceedings commenced against the Registrant in accordance with the
terms of this Policy. In the event that the Registrant transfers a domain
name registration to W3HUB PTE LTD during the pendency of a court action or
arbitration, such dispute shall remain subject to the domain name dispute
policy of the registrar from which the domain name registration was
transferred.
9. Policy
Modifications
W3HUB PTE LTD reserve the
right to modify this Policy at any time with the permission of ICANN. W3HUB
PTE LTD will post the revised Policy at on its web page at
http://www.w3hub.com/udrp.asp at
least thirty (30) calendar days before it becomes effective. Unless this
Policy has already been invoked by the submission of a complaint to a
Provider, in which event the version of the Policy in effect at the time it
was invoked will apply to the Registrant until the dispute is over, all such
changes will be binding upon the Registrant with respect to any domain name
registration dispute, whether the dispute arose before, on or after the
effective date of the change. In the event that the Registrant objects to a
change in this Policy, the Registrant's sole remedy is to cancel the domain
name registration with W3HUB PTE LTD, provided that the Registrant will not
be entitled to a refund of any fees the Registrant paid to W3HUB PTE LTD.
The revised Policy will apply to the Registrant until the Registrant cancels
the domain name registration.